Art: Fernell Franco

By Sienna Rodgers

17 November 2016

We take a look at
the work of Colombian photographer Fernell Franco

Colombian photographer
Fernell Franco is regrettably under-recognised despite his
undeniable talent, namely the ability to capture loss and neglect
beautifully. This Paris exhibition will be the first time in Europe
that a comprehensive retrospective of his work has been shown. The
140 photographs on display span three decades, the ten series
having been produced from 1970 to 1996.

As a child, Franco fled
the Colombian countryside amidst the civil war, La
Violencia, and ended up living in the city of Cali. It is here
that he first worked as a photographer - as a messenger at fifteen
years old, then a fotocinero on the streets and
finally a photojournalist. The latter post exposed him to society's
elite, meaning he could document Colombia's inequalities from urban
revolts and inner-city violence to the cocktail parties of the
upper classes.

'In the countryside
at night, there is the spectacle of stars in the sky. What I saw in
contrast when I arrived in Cali were that the stars were on
earth.'

This retrospective
reveals the breadth of his work, which includes series on destroyed
buildings, Demoliciones; aquatic landscapes,
Pacífico; women and girls in a brothel,
Prostitutas; parcels, Amarrados; bicycles,
Bicicletas, and Interiores, which considers the
previously grand interiors of derelict mansions. Take a closer look
at these in the gallery below.

All photos are the
copyright of Fernell Franco and courtesy of Fundación Fernell
Franco Cali/Toluca Fine Art, Paris.